Elvis is in the Building

Without a doubt, Elvis was a meat and potatoes man. Equally famous was his penchant for Grilled Banana and Peanut Butter Sandwiches (YUM!); obviously, he was not someone counting calories! So in a turn of Elvis-is-in-the-Building inspiration, we had a meat and potatoes night and a dessert that would make the King of Rock ‘n Roll proud.

Dinner was Cheeseburger Meatloaf and Cheesy Crunchy New Potatoes. Dessert was Peanut Butter Banana Gooey Butter Cakes. All were new recipes. I happen to like my meatloaf recipe better, so I won’t be putting the Cheeseburger Meatloaf recipe here. I did, however, learn a great tip for cutting the grease prevalent in meat loaf. Put two slices of bread on the bottom of your loaf pan and add the meatloaf mixture on top of the bread. When it’s done cooking, take out the meatloaf, and remove and discard the bread. You’ll see when doing this, that the bread has soaked up all your grease. Pretty nifty, eh?

The Potatoes, as you’ll see, are certainly not light … but they were tasty just the same. Well, rolled in a stick of melted butter, why wouldn’t they be?

The Peanut Butter Banana Gooey Butter Cakes is a recipe I’ve had before, in other variations, i.e., Pumpkin, Double Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter and the family favorite, Original.

Peanut Butter Banana Gooey Butter Cakes
Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
Whipped cream, for garnish

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 whole banana
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter together and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased glass 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Prepare the filling.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the peanut butter; beat. Add the banana and butter and mix well. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over the cake mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. You want the center to be a little gooey, so do not over bake. Top each cake slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Cheesy Crunchy New Potatoes
12 small new red potatoes
1 (0.4-ounce) package ranch dressing mix (recommended: Hidden Valley Original Ranch Buttermilk Recipe)
2 cups crushed Cheez-It crackers
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potatoes, let cool slightly, and then peel. Mix the dressing mix and the crackers in a bowl. Dip the potatoes in melted butter, and then roll them in the cracker mixture. Place the potatoes in a greased baking dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

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